Romance Vignettes
by Kaeru Shisho
Summary: For your thanksgiving Holiday reading. All six Gundam pilots get a stab at telling how Duo and Heero finally get together, with diversionary glimpses into their own romances. Two parts. yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**Romance Vignettes**

Summary: All six Gundam pilots get a stab at telling how Duo and Heero finally get together, with diversionary glimpses into their own romances. Two parts.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, AU

* * *

Part One

Chapter One - Duo

"Hey, Quat! Long time no hear!" I loved getting a call from this particular friend. Quatre was always up to something interesting.

"Shhh!"

I was amused by Vid-phone-image Quatre setting a finger to his lips in the well-understood signal for silence as lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Is Trowa in?" he asked.

I made an act of looking around the small, dimly lit office that housed the computer security business Trowa and I had been running for about a year or so. Then like a flash I moved to within inches of the vid-phone screen. "JUST ME, BABY!" I shouted and laughed.

Oh, the face he made! Rich. The friend on the other end of the call didn't laugh. He gave a twisted smile and The Sigh of Tolerance. "I need your help."

"Sure, always at your service. What's up?"

"Actually, it is Trowa. Something's wrong. I went out of my way to 'accidently' run into him twice while he was installing the new surveillance system at the Sanc offices and, well, he's been so awfully quiet."

"Um. You know, he's always quiet. Nothin' new there."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it. You notice it, too, don't you?"

"If what you mean is how's he's been moping around more since you started dating Wufei, then yeah."

"Oh, that's just not- Oh, I see! You don't think-? No, that's just silly—"

"Silly? Trowa is a lotta things, but silly isn't one of them," Duo said.

"Well, he is silly if it's me he wants to date and never asks. Wufei asked."

I had to sigh my own patented Sigh of Sick-of-Brick-for-Brains-Friends. Totally unenthused to play romantic liaison, especially for one who really had the means to do this on his own, I started to fill in the information that somehow had gotten past my remarkably intelligent but bizarrely ignorant friend.

"Wufei completed his degree in history and he inherited the Long Clan wealth and insurance from the L5 destruction and he's a senior agent with Preventers. He is coming at you _from an equal status_. Trowa's just a guy working his way through life with a sketchy background and uncertain future. He's got nothing to bring to the table."

"The _table_? I'm not expecting suitors to lay out offerings to entice me. What makes you think a thing like that?"

I pivoted the vid-phone viewer so that the monitor faced a grimy window and spread my arms to invite my well-heeled friend to look out over a parking garage and a brick wall, decorated with graffiti. "I'd say that your office-you know, with its 275 degree from the 500-th floor view of the Sanc Kingdom instead of this- is a mind-blowing distinction that doesn't get past Trowa. And that's just the tip of the Winner iceberg that covers Earthsphere like a—"

Quatre waved his hand. "Wrong metaphor. You want sand dunes not icebergs."

I was growing exasperated now, which I tried to communicate with a heated look and an edge to my voice he couldn't miss. "It's damned intimidating. You and that ginormous family of yours… Oh, yeah, and that corps of Maguanacs you got hanging around you, too."

"My… situation… in life doesn't bother you. It shouldn't be a deterrent to-"

"I'm not in love with you, dipshit!"

"Oh."

"Yeah. O-oh."

"And you think Trowa is?"

"_Is…?_" _Say the damn words, will ya?_

Quatre huffed. "Is in love with me! You'd think I would recognize such a thing, if it existed, wouldn't you? I'd feel it here." He pressed a hand over his heart.

"You mean that space-heart thing you say you've got? Yeah, you'd think that would work." I sniffed. "That was sarcasm, by the way."

"I know-."

"Well, there's no fooling you, heh, heh." I shouldn't have let up on him and started joking around; it gave him a chance to become all uppity again.

"And it _does_ work, sometimes."

I made a grand gesture to clear the slate of all empathic hocus-pocus. "Forget that shit. What matters is how you feel about Trowa- and about Wufei, for that matter."

"I like Wufei and Trowa."

"Uh, huh." Give me a break, buddy.

"I _do!_"

"That's not the point. Trowa is hurting because he doesn't think he can compete with Wufei, if it comes to that—"

"Trowa has a good job. You both are starting a new company. Working hard. I admire hard work. It's commendable—"

"It's drudgery, actually. And, as I was saying, he's quiet because he doesn't want to say the wrong thing."

"Well, he can't say the wrong thing since he never manages to say anything. He hardly knows me anymore, and I certainly don't know his mind. Did he confide his feelings with you?"

"Ah, sorta."

"What did he say? Or do you have a secret-silence pact?"

"A _what?_ You are weird, Quatre. C'mon, you know how he is. Holds his cards close to his chest."

"But he said something to you that makes you think he- he is attracted to me?"

I nearly crossed my eyes automatically, and then did so out of frustration. "Yes!"

Quatre waited expectantly.

"Why do I feel like one of the girls here?" I blew out my breath in a long noisy stream. This had a calming effect for me. It also gave me a space to think in. Wording this next part was gonna be tricky. "Okay. It went like this: Trowa goes, 'I love,'- and he either said 'cats', as in C-A-T, or 'Quat's', as in your, – 'smile.' _But_ since you'd just beamed at us in passing at Dorothy's party and there were no pussy cats around and we hadn't been talking about the toothy grins the big cats give him at the circus, I figure he meant you."

"Oh." Quatre looked disappointed.

"You had to be there to get the full impact," Duo told him.

"It's just…"

"Whoa. Fading out like that means I get to fill in as I want." I allowed my lips to pull into a smile while making him wait and imagine what I'd pull out of my hat next to shock him. "Let's see… Oh, I got it! It's just… that he's so mysterious and normally so cool—or is it that's he's so hot?"

"Duo." The pounding of Quatre's fist on the monitor frame demonstrated more irritation than the tone of voice, which he'd kept under tight control and very correct. "I have given him ample opportunities to say something. He could ask me out; he could ask me to have coffee with him. But he doesn't… think of me in that way."

"And Wufei does, you think?"

"Wufei and I enjoy… We share several interests and can go about making plans to do them together. He's not afraid to invite me to join him or to talk."

"And that's enough for you? Don't you want to feel your heart go pitter-patter all excited like?"

"Of course I would, I mean, I do, a little. It's something! Darn it, Duo!"

"You started it!" I blew out my breath, which worked so well before, letting off more of the accumulated tension. "Listen, if 'Fei does it for you then, great. I'll just head back to my lopsided desk and mind my own business, but you asked why Trowa was down, and I told ya. Leave me outta your sordid love loops from now on."

"Oh, well, bye—"

I cut the call. Trowa knew his own mind and what he should or shouldn't do to win the Winner of his choice. He didn't need me to interfere. If he asked for advice, I would tell him to move on and find someone in his own social circle, but I knew Trowa would never ask.

"Besides," I muttered into the void of the room, "I've got my own stupid, hopeless love life to attend to, should I want to torture someone."

Getting Heero to consider me as something more than a friend was probably about as hopeless a goal as I could dream up. At least Trowa knew Quatre was capable of dating men. I hadn't observed Heero showing _any_ level of sexual attraction for _anyone_ of _either_ sex.

"Dream on, baby, dream on."

Chapter Two- Heero

So, there came a day when I thought Duo had lost it.

He and Barton had been cosseted in Une's office for over an hour. The commander wanted to subcontract their new security business, since they refused to fall under her spell and return to working for her as permanent employees.

I was present in the building for a similar, though, unrelated reason. In my opinion, Une wanted all the Gundam pilots close at hand and under her command. In my case, she felt I had a duty to train new recruits, even if only part-time with Preventers paying for my education—something she considered worthless but negotiable.

I could use the money, so I was considering her latest offer and thinking to run it past Chang, when Duo bounded up to me.

"Hey, 'Ro? Imagine meeting you here, heh, heh… Um, so while I have your undivided attention, I was wondering-"

"What do you want?" I asked to hurry him along a little. Wufei wouldn't remain at his desk for much longer and I did want to see him.

"Can I count on your for a hand moving this weekend?" he asked.

"Moving? As in moving to another apartment? Didn't you just do that less than six months ago?"

"Well, yeah. That place was a dive. I don't know whatever possessed me to think that rat's nest woulda worked."

"Are you sure about this new apartment?" I wasn't and I hadn't even seen it.

"Oh, yeah. It's pretty sweet. Gotta balcony and all. So… you in? Hey, Tro'! Look who I found lurking about the building."

"Are you surprised?" Barton asked.

He and I exchanged greetings, what Duo called our "nods of respectful recognition." I didn't think Trowa Barton was surprised to see me. We had talked over what we thought Une's offer would be the night before. "Have you checked out Duo's new apartment?" I asked.

"Time to clean the bathroom?" Trowa asked Duo, a gleam in his eye.

"Hey! I clean every so often and that's not why I moved from the last place!"

Trowa shook his head to the negative and looked at me. "He trying to get you to move him again? You've helped him move no fewer than two times a year since you'd both started at Preventers. I might-"

"Don't need the observation, Tro'," Duo broke in, pushing his business partner to the side.

"Indeed," chimed in Chang, leaning at the open door to his office. "We can all count."

Seven. This would make it the seventh move. I was still living in the same apartment I'd started with.

Trowa tried getting a word in edgewise again. An unsolicited word, I might add. "Just saying that I could lend—"

"Barton, this needs your urgent attention. Whether or not you join Preventers or remain subcontractors, the commander has asked me to examine this new charter for security upgrades, and I'd like your input by Monday." Chang dragged him to his open door, then, looking momentarily Duo's way, added. "It will consume his weekend. The entire time, since you'll be preoccupied with your move." He shoved Trowa inside his office. "Mine, too," he tagged on as he closed the door and secured the lock.

"Oh." Duo faced me, his eyes wary at first. "So, you gotta excuse, too?"

I shook my head to the negative; no excuses. "All right."

I was nearly blinded by his grin. "You'll do it? You'll help? "

"What time should I show up?" He'd say noon and I'd be there at 8:00 AM.

"How 'bout we get started not too early, catch some lunch…?"

The rest of his imaginative plans and what I was about to say had to wait. Four agents and one commander's assistant blocked the aisle.

"Mr. Maxwell? Commander Une would like you to return to her office. You left your cell phone and briefcase—"

"-Coulda brought them to me—"

"—and one more signature is required," she finished.

Chagrined, Duo nodded and turned to go back. "I rushed out when I saw you here, uh, not forgetful. Um… I'll catch you later. You'll still be here?"

"I will talk to Wufei in a moment; I have an hour before I have a class to catch."

"Cool! I won't be long."

I knocked on Chang's door and Barton opened it.

"Maxie hiding?" he asked, probably wondering where Duo was.

I explained the particulars and he smiled faintly. "One look at you and it's a mind swipe," is what I think I heard him mutter as he wandered off in the direction of Une's office.

"Yuy." Wufei sighed as if he shouldered the problems of the world, and with his job, he probably did so on a regular basis. "You know Maxwell does this just to get your attention."

"Does what—work?"

"Don't play clueless with me, Yuy. That's just beneath you."

"I wasn't! I don't know what the hell you're talking about." I did not try to read minds—Chang's, Barton's, Winner's, but especially not Duo's. It was hard knowing Duo's mind. I'd known him for years, but I didn't know anything important.

"Let me explain to you just as I did with Barton," Wufei said. He paced the length of his desk, arms behind his back, reminding me of one of my tottering, loquacious, professors.

"I'm not a child—!"

"In a way, you both are- both you and Barton, maybe we _all_ are deficient socially."

I think he added that last part to head off my denial. Then he threw me, as Duo once said, a curve ball.

"How aware are you of Duo's feelings for you?"

Frowning covered for my surprise, or was supposed to.

"I thought so," he said. "I will say no more and spoil the fun, but I am curious if you know your own… feelings toward him?"

Nothing was stranger than addressing my feelings about another man, a good friend, with another man, also a good friend, unless actually discussing those feeling with the man was next. I hated strange, so I glared a substitute for a wordy reply.

Duo should have been done at Une's office by this time, and I had decided to take her offer in spite of what Chang would advise, so I turned and left his office. If I had a few minutes to spare, I'd rather share them in Duo's company. That was answer enough for anyone.

Or should be.

If they were listening carefully.

Chapter Three - Quatre

Now that Trowa and I had come to… an understanding (foolish man thinking his silent treatment would make him seem mysterious and, so, enthrall me to him, which it did, so not so foolish- except that making "obtaining Quatre" a contest which he could win against Wufei worked fabulously for me). I had a little magic planned for my dear friend Wufei for his part.

But first I had to do something for Duo and Heero.

I wouldn't let Duo use any more excuses. He'd relocated, _again_. And Heero had graciously helped him, _again_. And Duo had already mourned over Heero's reliable, but platonically inclined, assistance. Trowa had cleared Duo's calendar of intrusive work-related activities. It was time to talk and apply a little pressure, with love. In order to do that I needed Duo out of his element and weakened, and I had just the way to do that.

"Duo, I know you don't like going to the dentist—"

"I don't even like _talking_ about going to the dentist, frankly," Duo said in an attempt to end the conversation.

"So I found the best, I mean the absolutely crème de la crème pick of all the dentist bouquets."

"Picks in a dental bouquet? Ewwww," Duo joked. Joking was a good sign.

"I am nearly at your door."

"What?! I-I got loads of stuff to do today!" Duo's panic-stricken voice had risen a couple octaves.

"No, you don't. Trowa told me your calendar was clear."

"Tro' baby! You wouldn't give me away, would you?" he wailed to no one, because I knew Trowa wasn't in the office with him. He'd been with me.

"Ha!" I laughed.

Duo stopped his moaning. "What?"

"OZ missed the boat entirely with us when it came to getting information. Torture was not the way."

"Well, there's limits, I suppose—"he attempted to argue, "—so, what?"

"Sex," that shut him up, "on the other hand worked pretty well, at least for me—"

"What?!" Duo wasn't usually this repetitive. He was usually very imaginative with words. "Trowa?"

"We've had a date or two."

"You have? When—?"

"Too late!" I laughed and knocked at his office door. "I'm here."

Getting Duo out the door required promises of a "tell-all" over a fine dining experience, but out the door I got him.

"Trowa's car? No limo?"

"He's generously dropped me here and lent me his keys. We agreed that limo riding was too ostentatious for going to the dentist."

"You did? So where is he?"

"Not here. Busy. He'll be in shortly to cover the office, so don't worry about that." I smiled and made a fuss of adjusting the seat for my shorter legs, fastening my seat belt, and starting the car. "It's on his schedule."

I took a quick look over at Duo and found him slunk into his seat, eyes closed. "Just relax and it will be over and done with in no time!" I told him.

He remained unmoving and silent for the entire, short ride. He sat up when I set the brake.

"Looks like a house," he said.

"On the outside, it does. Very cozy and warm atmosphere in side, which should put you at ease."

At the desk sat a young lady tapping at a computer and another smiling and handing out toothbrushes and floss to a pair of children about to leave. I checked Duo in and took a chair next to his and waited.

After leafing through a "Who's Who" and spotting his face, Duo slammed the magazine down onto the coffee table and glowered. I couldn't make out his grumbling words, but I didn't require that in order to determine his state of mind. He needed a joke. Now, I have never been able to tell a joke. I could rarely recall one when one was needed, either, not like Duo, who seemed able to pull them out of the air. Knowing this, Trowa left me this morning with a joke I could use. I won't go into the cost of this wisdom for personal reasons.

"So, Duo. How many Gundam pilots does it take to get you to the dentist?" I asked, gamely.

I didn't expect him to answer, so the moment his eyes met mine, I proceeded to recite the comeback line, "Five. Because—"

He held up a hand to stop me and grinned. "Or just one hot one implying seductively that there's a reward in the end."

Oh! He'd called me hot!

"Duo Maxwell? Hello, the dentist will see you now. How are you?"

My look of shock must have been exactly what he had been counting on. It surely bucked him up. Duo stood with a smile, shoulders back, chin up, and marched forward, following the hygienist into the inner realm of the dental kingdom. I could hear his chattering replies down the hall and the laughter of other people in his wake. Perhaps it was the circus themed décor and small furniture that clued him in that this was a children's dentist and that he was an exceptional exception.

Forty minutes later, he danced out, waving toothbrushes, floss and a toy from the treasure chest. "All right! Over and done with. Bill in the mail. All clear and good. Now where we off to?"

The buoyant, cheerful Duo was a pleasure to be around. I knew to let well enough alone and not tease him about his antics and silly dentist-hostility. We drove to the shopping district and parked in the first space I could find. "We can walk a bit before lunch?" I checked.

"Oh yeah. My teeth are all slick and smooth. Not ready to spoil that yet! Do they sparkle?" He gave me a toothy grin and I laughed at him.

"Yes, Duo, they do."

We window shopped down one side of the street and then stopped at a fountain. He seemed to need to talk, and I was willing to listen. That's what this was all about, after all.

"So, you and Trowa, huh?"

"Y-yes." That wasn't where I wanted us to begin, however. I thought he wanted to explore _his_ feelings following "the move" with Heero first. Not Trowa, his other best friend. Well, that just meant I'd have to turn the conversation that way. "He called me and asked me out a week ago. It's been very… quick, but we... like each other tremendously."

"That's good. I knew you'd click." He gave me an "about time" look, but instead of saying it, he asked, "So, what about-?"

Duo was thinking about Wufei, of course, and I felt that we needed to blow past that immediately. "We are just good friends. Really."

"No hurt feelings?"

"None at all. Actually… oh, I shouldn't say."

"Aw, Quat, I can keep a secret. You know that."

"It's not a secret exactly. It's just that… well, I introduced him to somebody and I noticed sparks."

"Good sparks, I take it." He meant that as a question as indicated by his arched eyebrow.

"Very, very good sparks. And, no, I won't say who it is. That's up to him."

"Humph." He may have been disappointed that I wasn't giving away Wufei's secrets, but he didn't continue to press me. He didn't even seem grumpy about it, so I decided it was time to explore his inner Duo.

"So, what about you?" I asked cautiously. Always tread lightly around sensitive topics that might cause bruising to one's image of manhood. Trowa had mentioned that Duo met people at bars occasionally. Nothing meaningful, though, and nothing leading to intimacy, he was always quick to add. I just hoped that should Heero not be interested in him—no, not that, more that Heero might not be ready for the sexual assessment phase of a relationship (was Duo, even?), possibly, was what I was thinking- he would be able to move on and leave Heero behind without jettisoning a large portion of his heart in the process.

"I have tried. I've been on so many setup dates I've lost count."

"I'm sorry."

"Me, too. God, if I hear one more 'You'll love her, Duo. I just know you will!' I'll scream. Honestly, I will!"

"Do you want to date some new _girls_ then?" I wasn't sure. All I knew about was his obsession with Heero, which he wouldn't admit was sexual; at least, he never told me he was gay, and he knew _I _was.

"As a friend, maybe. I would like to go out with _anyone_. At best, I could grow to like a girl, whoever she might be. The romance, I know, might simply never materialize." He looked at me now and his eyes were sad with a touch of fear. "Quat. I get nothing from girls. Nothing like what I get around… you-know-who. No rush of excitement. No fluttering heart. No nothing. I don't want to think about what's wrong with me."

"It doesn't work that way, Duo. Stop being so negative. There are folks out there, other _men_ (let's not tiptoe around this any longer, shall we?), that could be very nice possibilities, if you'd give them a chance, I could try—"

"Eh! I know what I want, that's not my problem, the knowing, sorta. It's the getting it. I've been adrenalin junky for sure—"

"You can say that about all your best friends," I put in.

"Right, those who'd all once been Gundam pilots in the war. I was afraid of being something else, nothing I wanted to face just yet. You remember when I took off right after the war? And you know I did that again after leaving Preventers and before Tro' and I, you know, this business of ours."

"I thought you were setting down roots here in Sanc now. Is it not the case?"

"Yeah, I am, little short stumpy ones, heh, heh. But back then I was traveling in search of a place to call home and where I'd fit in."

"I didn't know—"

"Oh, yeah. I tried many places. I really didn't fit in anywhere. But I haven't given up. Yep, I think I'm going to try again- next week, actually."

"That soon? You, you're just driving away in search of… what exactly are you looking for again?" I asked, confused.

"Someone to make _wherever_ I'm living feel like home."

Did that mean he was finally letting go of Heero? I had to know for sure. "But I thought you were attracted to -?"

He stopped me from saying "Heero" when he smacked a hand over my mouth. "No, don't say it. Please, okay?"

I nodded and he took away his hand.

"Things haven't changed in that department, but I can't keep just waiting, doing nothing with my life forever while he moves on in whatever land of oblivion that he lives in, can I?"

"No. No one would expect to put your life on hold waiting." Still I could just kick Heero for hurting Duo this way, as unintentional as it was. "So, have you chosen a destination?"

"I have a security installation to do for some Hollywood celebrity. Trowa and I take turns traveling, you know. So, I'll start there and take a few days off to take a look around."

There was such a sad, vulnerable look in his eye, I couldn't help but pull him into a hug. "Well, I wish you the very best, Duo. Would you call me and let me know how your hunt is going?"

"Sure," he smiled, "Unless I get lucky. Then you won't hear nothing till I get back home. Hey, let's eat at that place; I could dig me some chili and fries."

Chapter Four - Trowa

"Duo's changed." It was no deep revelation on my part. I just said what everyone else was thinking.

Duo had taken off a week from our business, which turned into two weeks, in order to travel and "find himself", as he called it. I don't know what he found or where, but I wouldn't mind getting _me _some. He simply glowed, and that's saying something considering how alight the grand ballroom was. The Sanc palace ballroom.

The glow had begun earlier, when he returned to Sanc ten minutes before I was about to leave the office. I'd just stuffed a few extra surveillance taps into my pockets, just in case, when he banged past the outer door.

"Home at last! You still here?"

"Yo, Maxie. All the way in back."

Duo and I managed the palace security, a real coop of a contract acquired with the help of contacts—Quatre and Relena and Commander Une. That was too daunting a team for Duo and me to fight, and too lucrative a contract to turn down. We were not under Une's finger, exactly, an important part of our decision. Une's only involvement was minimal. We had assembled a team of ex-cops and Preventers mostly, to walk the beat inside and out, and she hand-picked those men. We did get final approval.

So, while Duo was gallivanting around Hollywood and then someplace in outer space, I guessed, I'd spent the last two weeks upgrading the current technology, which hadn't been bad, and testing all the equipment, which all worked fine. I was already wired for action and dressed for a party in an all-black tuxedo ensemble Quatre had recommended.

It was all okay. I'd get my turn at some time off real soon. I planned to hijack Quatre for a very special holiday, if he was agreeable.

"You have time to dress." I informed Duo, tilting my head just enough to point out his similar all-black tuxedo ensemble wrapped in plastic and hanging on the hook his jacket usually occupied.

"Wow! You look… spiffy."

"You will too." And that was when I got a load of this new Duo. Oh, yeah. He had the glow.

"This for me? Dude, this has got to be Quat's influence."

"You don't think I have fine taste?" I was practically drooling, and this was my work partner, best friend, and my boyfriend's best friend!

"Heh, heh… Oh, you got the taste for the finer things in life, all right, but you wouldn't have picked out these fancy-ass threads on your own."

We both knew Quatre Winner was definitely one of the finer things in life, the finest in _mine_. The wonder of that astonished me when I thought about it, so I tried not to ponder that very often. I counted out a few breath mints, tossed them in my mouth, and scanned the last minute list for things left to do, while Duo tossed off his street clothes and jammed arms and legs into shirt sleeves and pant legs. I tried very, very hard not to watch.

"Team's already in place?"

"Y-yes," I answered and then cleared my throat, swallowed, and kicked myself, mentally, in the head to re-start my thinking process without a fucking glowing Maxie blinding me. "They have all checked in. We had a run-through last night and a final test of the equipment this morning. All's good."

"Super."

This was the first in a string of heavy-duty, winter season galas leading up to the Mid-Winter Festival of lights, the New Year's Celebration and finally tapering off with a Valentine's Day Dance. After that, there was a month downtime for cleaning and staff vacations before the spring season of events started the whole ball rolling again.

Huge. Massive. _Mahusive_ fun for all.

It was a lot of work for us, but it suited our skills and made us a shitload of _moola_ , Duo's words.

"Help me with this tie?"

I turned and reached over to take the tie ends and froze. Up close and personal, I was a caress-width's and career-ending's space away from a real knockout. Who _was _this man in my office? Duo Maxwell, of course, but his hair seemed smoother, shinier, his shoulders straighter, and he just oozed confidence. His aura was fresh and new as if that dark cloud of his past had lifted and blown clean away.

"Tro'?"

"Um, yes. I can tie that."

He adjusted his earphone communicator. "Testing… 1…2..3.."

"Loud and clear." I stared until our eyes met. "Have a good time, did you?"

"Yeah, great, in fact."

"We have time to talk about it," I offered. I even leaned back onto the desk to demonstrate I was willing to wait him out.

"Think so? Okay, well… I started out at the airport, staring at the schedules, and not seeing anything that moved me."

"A plane? Not the shuttle off-planet?" I asked, thinking he'd visit a colony after the Hollywood gig.

"Not this time. Anyway, then this dude I'd gotten to chatting with recommended a place called Blissfield. As it turned out, that was a neighborhood in San Francisco."

"_That's where I'm going," he said. "Going home. You oughta come and check it out." _

"_I don't know."_

"_Whatcher got to lose-?"_

_My remaining self-esteem? My sense of humor? Self-respect? "Nothing important."_

"_-and yer got everything to gain."_

Duo smiled and adjusted his cummerbund. "So I got me a one-way to San Fran and slept most the way."

"Good." I slept when I could, too.

"Funny, the first person I saw as I disembarked had a braided ponytail halfway down his back. _His_ back. Just like I did. That's when I felt there was some hope."

"Another long-haired guy made you feel at home?" I asked.

"At the time, yeah. I got a taxi, eventually, to take me to 'Blissville' and it was the gay district, I discovered, but what the hey, right? I went to spas and clubs and—"His eyes appeared a little unfocused, preoccupied looking, and then suddenly re-focused. "Whoa! Would ya look at the time! We gotta hustle."

Not really, but I could tell he was getting to the uncomfortable part of his story, and so I let him off the hook. I was gay and so was Quatre and Wufei, although none of made a show of it, especially in the workplace. Heero concealed his feelings completely. Sealed and locked away, so who knew for sure? Looked like my friend and partner was homing in on his sexuality, so I stood back, and gave him all the space and time he'd be needing to come to grips with it all.

Like he had me.

So, it was later on that I was standing alongside Chang, Yuy, and Quatre, all watching Duo cruising the ballroom. A couple years ago, when we'd all been employed by Preventers, we'd been teenagers fresh from the war, entering a man's world without mature social skills and zilch dating experience. And now, here came my Maxie with this new-found sexuality, strutting his stuff and looking damned good.

Moments after my comment, Chang made a like remark, "Maxwell _has_ changed."

"He seems so confident," Quatre said. "He wears a tuxedo well, don't you think, Heero?"

"Hn."

I was thinking attractive and sexy. It's a good thing I can keep my mouth shut.

"He draws attention," Chang huffed. "Unprofessional."

"Not really. He's supposed to appear as a guest," I said, correcting him.

"Some guest! I don't see anyone else _writhing_ like that!" Chang sneered and sniffed. "Disgusting behavior."

Duo was _dancing_. Cuffs pushed up, baring his lower arms, seemed daring and looked very, very hot. Dancing. Oh, yeah. He was extremely attractive.

"I'd never noticed just how stunningly gorgeous Duo was," Quatre said. "Charming, naturally, but he simply—"

"Glows?" I suggested, wishing my boyfriend would chill a bit with the gushy comments.

"Yes, glows. And, he's having no difficulty finding dance partners," Quatre seemed pleased to announce.

Zechs Merquise appeared from out of the shadows and in two strides, loomed over Duo.

"Is he asking Duo to dance with him?" Quatre asked. "I wonder if Zechs ever noticed him before?"

I'd never seen Chang move so fast. From his careless slump against a column, to the taunt man of action, my martial arts trained friend sprang to full attention. "Zechs has no interest in Maxwell," Chang said with a sneer, and then added in a hiss, "Does he think this is some sordid sex club?"

"Zechs should recognize his own palace." I tried to be funny.

I actually hoped Chang would stick around and continue to spout insults at Duo, being unable to verbalize anything close to a compliment. Shouldn't that ruffle Yuy to action? Unfortunately, we'd heard all he had to say on the subject. Chang gave me a nasty look before hastily marching off in the direction of the scene of interest.

At least I could still goad Heero with Quatre's assistance. "Maybe Maxie'll dance with me?" I wondered aloud.

Quatre saw my wink and understood what I was trying to do. We both wanted to jumpstart Yuy to make a move, give Duo some signal of interest. How could he miss noticing Duo wriggling his ass out on the floor?

Well, he couldn't. Heero Yuy's glower was riveted to Duo. I couldn't tell if the man was angry, disturbed by Duo's behavior or his appearance, or hypnotized. So, I decided to keep commenting about different elements I noticed, speculating about doing something about it, until Heero exploded.

"Perfect fit on the tux," I mentioned to Quatre in particular. Credit where credit is due.

"It is, isn't it?" he smiled at me. "You're not worried about how well I guessed his size, are you?"

"Should I be?" I put no heat into this query. Watching Heero's continuing agitation, fist clenching, teeth grinding, and growling entertained me more than it should have, probably.

"When did Duo return to Sanc, did you say?" Quatre asked me.

"A few hours ago." With that I started ticking off some points of interest. "Said he had a great time in San Francisco. Met lots of friendly folks. Found a hairdresser he liked. Nice trim on the bangs."

"Feathering, like mine. I think that earing is new," Quatre added, catching on to my plan like the smart guy, _boyfriend,_ he was.

My _boyfriend_. I was really growing to like the sound of that, so much that I felt assertive enough to tag on, "Yeah and it matches his eyes, I think—"

Heero snorted and snapped, "His eyes are bluer than that amethyst stone."

Before we could react, he was striding away toward an exit door.

"Well, he reacted," I noted, "but I don't think you should take his abrupt leave-taking as a good sign."

"He noticed the color of Duo's eyes," Quatre said, triumphantly, "and _that_ I _do_ take as a glimmering of hope."

* * *

**TBC in Part Two**


	2. Chapter 2

**Romance Vignettes**

Part Two

Chapter Five -Zechs

* * *

"Have you seen Duo Maxwell recently?" I asked a pair of agents who appeared to be at task, but were, in fact, leafing through a personal photo album.

One jumped to attention; the other snapped shut the album and blushed. "Um, no—?"

"Yuy in the building?" I asked.

"Ah, Agent Catalonia, at the next cubical might know, sir."

I hadn't asked for Catalonia! I scowled and turned to the young man at my side. "Follow me. Don't wander off," I commanded.

He looked unconcerned, but nodded. "To Yuy!" he said, grinning.

Dear God.

It had come down to this, my sentence, enforced by my commander, Lady Une: it was my job to keep track of the ex-Gundam pilots. Oh, I had missions with Preventers agents, but every one of them offered me an opportunity to drop in on L4 to see Winner, or scour some satellite for Barton or Maxwell, or partner with Chang. Yuy, most remarkably, had remained in Sanc and was the easiest of all to track. Very considerate of him.

Une's plan to concentrate them on earth and in Sanc had been a brilliant one and it had worked, so far. Barton and Maxwell were to remain in the area all winter, providing security for the palace gala events. And where Barton went, Winner would not be far away for long. Yuy would be on the premises at headquarters running training programs, when he wasn't attending classes at the University of Sanc.

My job had become effortless and painless.

And then last month, Maxwell disappeared for two weeks.

The _sneak_ knew every trick in the book, and then started his own. Our agents lost him on a bus in Northern California. ON a BUS.

Before I had to report that failure to the commander, he reappeared, conjured out of the shadows and graffiti walls right back at the ramshackle office building housing the business he shared with Barton. That was the word I received while stalking the halls of the Sanc palace, a couple hours before guests would arrive- including my commander.

I had been expecting Barton to show up at the event, praying fervently that Maxwell would also. I wanted no unwanted questions raised concerning his absence and I had no desire to explain it all, what only could be seen as my failure, to Commander Une- a task neither without effort or pain.

And then I saw him. There he was, talking to Barton and another security guard. Oh, my…

That was Duo Maxwell in that tuxedo, wasn't it? Was it the ensemble—excellent taste- that triggered his transformation from scrubby teenager to stunning young man? No. The clothes contributed substantially, but there was something else.

After that glimpse, he slipped away, and I had to pretend I had business wandering the halls in order to keep him within sight. But I did, and next time he paused, he was all business. He was locating each of his men and speaking to them for a few minutes.

Smiles. He left them smiling in his wake. I wondered what he said, what uplifting message he gave, or was it only a joke?

The guests had begun to arrive and I had been called to action, greeting everyone, delivering that personal touch, inviting everyone to _my home_; except, it was not my home. Not even my sister, Relena, chose to reside at the elegant bastion of Sanc civilization any longer. The Sanc palace had become a museum, honoring a past hardly anyone living still looked back on with the desire to re-live. The transformation from "majestic home to people mostly now dead" into a "mausoleum in which the currently living could party" had actually made it easier for me to move on with my own life. I'd been born to do this, but if I reflected too far back and poked around, I'd find the open sore.

I discovered that poking about was exactly what I had been doing and put a stop to it. Musing on the past only made me depressed.

All the pilots had begun putting in an appearance. I'd made certain they all received invitations. I'd made sure. I had personally handed one to Yuy… and to Chang.

There was a man in whom I had found someone to believe in and desire. Chang Wufei, a man of honor and hidden charms _liked_ me, too, and had just walked into sight, so I had absolutely no excuse for becoming a morose bore.

The Chinese swordsman that had bested—no, not bested- more precisely, he was the man to whom Treize had fallen. That intrigued me, and that we were nearly on the same side one or twice during the war titillated my imagination even more. And when he arrived at Preventers headquarters, by no other than the commander's request, I had my wish and met him formally.

_At that moment, standing in Une's sterile steel and cement bunker of an office, I was captivated by his air of quality and exotic beauty._

_He gave me one look, a derisive sniff, and negotiated his contract with, "As long as I am not partnered with…him."_

"_Agent Wind? I see, well, that will be no trouble. I like my experienced agents leading separate teams anyway," Une replied, completely unruffled._

"_I'll have men at my command?" he asked._

"_And women!" she laughed at his expression. _

_Not me and no women—a choosey man. I liked that. It gave him charisma, in my eyes._

Since that time, I'd made making inroads to getting closer to Wufei. He was a man of nobility and high values. A little high-strung and impetuous, but who was I find fault in what served him as virtues?

Over the past year, he even suffered me to team up on a particularly difficult and complicated case. I must have impressed him favorably, because I believe I achieved a kind of reluctant friendship with him. With a little work, and a call from Winner insisting that Wufei was "attracted" to me, I built our rapport into something beyond camaraderie.

He had accepted a dance with me at that damnable ball, and made the evening a blessed memory. Hovering on the horizon where dreams take place and reality unfolds, I perceived a date coming up for us.

I stopped my musing over the events of the last month and was just about to narrow down where to take him to one of two restaurants, when a call came in from security.

"It's a Curtis Winthrop asking for Duo Maxwell."

"Page Maxwell. You know your job! Why are you bothering me with this?" I demanded. Nothing was more irritating than incompetence.

"I'm sorry, sir. I have been unable to connect with Mr. Maxwell. You are on his contact list—"

Of course I was… "—All right. I'll track him down. If he is in this building, I'll find him." Or someone would find him. I had no desire to have a close encounter with the man, not after watching him dance in the palace. No. When Temptation affected an earthly appearance, that form was Maxwell. Steering clear of him was a priority, now that I had secured, barely, the interests of another more worthy individual.

"Thank you, sir. Um…"

"What?!"

"Sorry, sir, but what am I to do with Mr. Winthrop?"

"Keep him at the front desk!" What else?! Who's training these people anyway? "Sit on him if he seems prone to wandering off."

"Yes, sir, but—"

"But? Spit it out!"

"He insists that he could help, if you took him along with you. He claims he can find Duo in a metropolis of—"

"I'll be there in five minutes."

I slammed the door to my office and marched down the hall, peering over cubicles (being tall had its advantages, even if, as Chang insisted, it diminished capacity in a chase through sewer tunnels or air vents). I had to smile thinking back to that mission; the vision I had of his sweet, tight, ass disappearing into the air vent after having vaulted him up off my shoulders. We had made a fine team.

Curtis Winthrop was lean, attractive, standing at 5 foot ten. He wore his flaming red hair tied back in a tight braid. A spray of freckles gave him a terribly homespun appearance of innocence, but the hooded green eyes spoke volumes of a life rife with experience. What disturbed me about him was how distressingly alike I found he and Maxwell were.

"Hi! Just call me Kurt, that's with a "k". Are going to help me find Duo in this fortress?" His directness set my teeth on edge, but his smile was entirely disarming.

I decided to sic him on Yuy as soon as I found him, if he was in from the training field and if he hadn't already left the building.

"I am Captain Merquise. Follow me." Why I let this adolescent get to me, I didn't know.

Dear God. My job had boiled down to delivering dates to Maxwell! "Have you seen Duo Maxwell in the building?" I demanded of the next knot of slacking agents.

"Um, no, sir. Are you sure he's here today?"

"No!" I growled and peeled off to the hall leading to the locker rooms, and, hopefully, Yuy.

"Do you know him well, Duo, I mean?" The Winthrop man quick-stepped to keep up with me and made it look easy. He didn't bother waiting for my reply. "I met him in a crosswalk in San Francisco. He was lost, or looked that way. I saved him!"

A ripple of warm laughter followed that admission. I felt it enter my chest and knock around inside until we entered the locker room, where Yuy- thank God the man was here- was finger-combing his hair.

"Merquise?" His eyes took in the young man at my side and his patented frown deepened. "That's… not a new recruit."

"No," I said, putting that fear to rest. Curtis Winthrop wouldn't survive a day, an hour, training under Yuy, if I was any judge of glowering looks. "This man is looking for Maxwell. I leave him in your charge." I gave a curt nod to them both and left the room, completely confident in Yuy's ability to complete his assignment.

And that was the last I believed I would ever see of Curtis, Kurt with a k, Winthrop.

I was in error.

The next day, Curtis Winthrop returned. This time it was Wufei who came to tell me about the repercussion of his visitations, making it as pleasurable an event as possible in this world I inhabit.

"Yuy is going mad." Wufei was like a roiling column of chaos, tightly controlled, but with the potential of exploding into something wondrously messy.

"Really?" I gestured to the open chair. Call me wicked, but I found the very idea of a nutty Heero Yuy to be amusing, just as seeing Chang in a passion over it, or of _any_ kind, enthralled me, so I decided to play it up a little and see what it brought me. "Tell me about it."

He closed the office door, but didn't sit. "It's not funny. At all."

Try as I did to hide my smile, it repeatedly popped back. "My apologies."

"You _know _he has difficulties."

That was all he said. He'd paused, waiting for some reaction, so I nodded.

"Seeing Maxwell several days a week is trying enough, but in a good way, I think."

I did not follow that. "You do?"

That remark earned me a scowling look. "You haven't noticed the man darkening the corridors like a heat-seeking bomb?"

I'd described Maxwell more as a bitch in heat, but lucky for me I didn't say that. As it turned out, he'd been referring to Yuy, and not the "changed man" at all.

"Obviously not," he said.

Chang had few nervous gestures, but ample angry ones. He treated me to one now, and sliced the air with a hand. And then I was snorted at! With charm. I wanted to sweep him up and turn all that passion into lust for me.

"I thought all our agents were highly trained observers," he added.

He dared to look down on me, well, up, but with an entirely "down" aspect to it. Adorable.

"I must explain this, I see," he relented and backed down a degree. I found him still very, very hot. "The man likes him and Yuy likes him back, but keeps it to himself for the most part."

"Heero Yuy is attracted to Duo Maxwell, you say?" I did not know that.

Wufei's long-suffering sigh of frustration told me that he believed I'd understood what he'd said—at last. "So you can see where this is going?" he asked me, or told me, making the assumption, possibly, that I'd made a leap of imagination, which I hadn't.

"Not clearly," or at all, "Where?" I dared to inquire.

"NO?! You _saw_ Maxwell at the palace dancing."

His eyes bored through my skull, daring me to deny what was obviously true since it was Wufei who interrupted me about to ask Maxwell to take his dance moves to a less _exposed_ part of the dance floor. I hadn't been about to ask Duo to dance. I'm not saying the thought hadn't crossed my mind. At the time, many thoughts had crossed my mind, all lusciously, lascivious ones. Should Wufei ever find out, the consequences _would not be good_.

"Yes," I admitted, with a slight shiver. And there again, that awkward snitch of a smile crept back onto my face.

"And then that…" Wufei paused over a word a moment. "… that… Winthrop _character_ keeps showing up to claim him."

"Claim him? As his boyfriend?"

"What else?! Yes, his boyfriend. Duo takes off for two weeks and returns a changed man that even Heero had to admit was inescapably attractive. You know what he said?"

"Who?" I didn't know which man Wufei was talking about now.

"Duo Maxwell! Focus! I'll tell you, and this is how I know what that Winthrop grease spot means to him. He said, 'I met a like-minded young man who swept me off my feet. I'd never been romanced nor had attention from men before, so I wasn't sure if I was, you know, gay.'"

"I see," I said, because at last I did and I was getting bored with the topic. What I wanted was to seduce the passionate young agent now in my office and to hell with everyone else and their silly dramas. "Maxwell found himself a boyfriend, who has shown up in town, and Yuy now has to deal with the real threat of losing all his chances with him unless he grows a pair and reveals his feelings."

"Yes!"

Thank God.

I stood and walked right up into Wufei's personal space. He retreated a few steps, but not many. I had him backed to the wall. I was not going to allow him time to voice an opinion. If he didn't want this to happen, I was certain he would let me know. He wouldn't think twice about pummeling me.

The crush of his strong, lithe limbs against mine drove me wild. I covered his lips with mine and claimed my prize. Oh, he fought a little. Just a little to be cute. His arms I pinned over his head. His piercing black eyes flashed excitement. His mouth, I plundered.

When his hardness rubbed against my thigh, pushed between his legs, and he kissed back, a heat pulsed through me, encouraging me to continue my attack.

But this little voice in my head told me take my time, back away, give him space, make him want more. Make him want me. That seemed to be a good idea. Besides, the workplace was not where I wanted to have sex with him, for the first time.

With great reluctance, I stepped back, caressing his lips with my tongue as I went.

"Zechs…" he gasped.

I nearly changed my mind and attacked him again. "Tonight? Can I take you… to dinner?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. I have one last task to perform for the day, and then I'll drop by your desk."

"That's a little early—" Our eyes met. "—oh, all right," he said agreeably. "Yuy should be changing in the locker room by now."

"Why should that-? Oh, yes. You guessed correctly what my next step should be. Thank you."

Agents and staff gave me a clear path as I rushed through the building in search of Yuy. I found him just leaving the locker room. Like clock work. Same time as the days before.

"Yuy!"

"Yeah?" he looked up to see me as if we did this every day, which we had lately. "Zechs?"

I didn't bother pointing out that he dropped the "sir". "Curtis Winthrop is at the security desk. Again. The man does not belong in the Preventers building."

He traded dark looks with me. "No, he doesn't."

"Escort him out the door and see that he understands that he is not to return here."

"I'd be… delighted."

Now there was a man who could follow orders.

"I don't want to see him again."

"Nor I."

I was pleased with myself, a fleeting feeling, but one I seized onto when possible. I'd made my intentions known to Wufei, and set Yuy on the track to doing the same for himself. It wasn't until I noticed the particular tightness of his coat across his retreating back that a concern for his well-being came to mind. Would Yuy take me literally, act on his emotions, assuming Wufei had been correct in his assessment, which I believed he was, and do something… rash to the determined nuisance, Curtis with a k?

Finding I couldn't concentrate on anything else, I chose to follow Yuy and watch him.

Surprisingly, he went straight to Une's office. Well, maybe not so surprising after all. Maxwell exited the room shortly after I arrived.

"Hey, 'Ro!"

"Duo." Heero rocked back on his heels, opened and closed his fists, and ran his fingers through his hair. The man was tense. "I—"

"You come looking for me or get raked over the coals by the commander lady?"

"You. I came to see you."

Maxwell led him around a corner to a more private spot. I had to move also, which put me by the coffee urn. Using the opportunity afforded to me, I helped myself to a cup and a cookie.

"So, what'sup?"

"Curtis is here. Again. Do you… want him… here?"

I am ever grateful for my parental heritage with provided me with the proper genes for height. With little effort I could peer through a ficus tree (mental note: report spider mite infestation) and over the partition to see Maxwell's reaction.

He appeared nervous as well.

"Um, not exactly."

"Tell your…friend… not to visit you at work; at least not the Preventers building."

"Oh, um, yeah, I tried that. He's quite persistent."

Yuy, meanwhile, just stood, glaring at Maxwell, waiting for more, I guessed.

Maxwell blew out his breath and folded his arms over his chest. "I met him in San Francisco and he showed me the sights."

I don't know how much Yuy was able to read into that, but I hoped enough not to ask for details. I needn't have worried, though. The man stood stone still, fully intent on just listening.

"I learned some things; a facet of me became clear."

Yuy made no sign of moving. The man was solid, concentrated power leashed so tightly that I believed one touch from Maxwell and he would have self-destructed; although, I could have been mistaken about the reaction. If he felt any attraction to Duo, he might jump him, instead.

"Right. When I left, I didn't think he'd follow, but… heh, heh… guess I was wrong, right?"

"Why do you permit him to stalk you if he is unwelcome?"

Ah, yes. I could almost hear Yuy tacking on "You're a Gundam pilot. Take care of the bastard."

"He wants to take me back with him." Maxwell shrugged his shoulders and threw his arms out, waving them around. "He loves me, Heero. I can't just tell him to fuck off. Geez! If I had any sense at all I would go back with him. Lead a cheerful little life in Blissville."

"Why don't you?"

God, Yuy, you are a blockhead!

"You don't know, do you? You can't even guess? Do you get that I discovered I'm gay? That I am attracted to men? That I might only be happy with a boyfriend-?"

Yuy nodded one curt dip of the chin. "I understand. I will take care of this. Excuse me." And he spun about and marched away.

Too, bad.

He missed what Maxwell said next: "-That I'd only be truly happy with you?"

Chapter Six - Wufei

Duo Maxwell can be the most irritating man in the universe or he can be the best man to have protecting your back. He's a good person—remember I said that—and an excellent fighter to have on your side. And he is a good friend to me and one I recruited as my partner at the Preventers Sanc station several years ago. Now, he and a mutual friend of ours, Trowa Barton, run a security company, which works closely with Preventers. I know I could count on him at a second's notice. He is, however, a frustrating sonofabitch.

Another of the Gundam pilots with whom I have remained in contact is Heero Yuy. He considers himself a free man. He gave up his gun, refusing to be a killing machine used by anyone, and enrolled in college to find his "calling". He recently did, however, take the commander up on a new proposal, similar to the program I had completed. Preventers would pay for his schooling and he would work part-time leading trainees through their physicals. So, he has become a free man on a leash.

Well, aren't we all?

Although I see Barton and Winner seldom, I call all the ex-Gundam pilots my closest friends. In my estimation, their personalities are like night and day, and sometimes oil and water. Maybe it is that contrast that I like?

In any case, over the past months I have observed how they interrelate. Occasionally this has occurred when we have all been under the same roof. I am thinking of the palace ball in particular. More commonly, I've watched their interactions on a limited basis, during short visits, and listened attentively to their conversations. What I learned was that Winner and Barton are gamers. They thrive with the hunt, the chase, and more power to them, but I wish they would both leave me out of any future intrigues. Please!

I also determined that Yuy was attracted to Maxwell far more than is good for him. And that Yuy has been keeping this fact to himself.

Don't imagine that Yuy confided in me about feelings! No. This I learned from Quatre Winner, who I had reason to see at a local convention on mining rights several weeks back.

_I had provided part of the Preventers peace-keeping presence for the event and Quatre Winner was there to present the Winner Enterprises Incorporated vision for the world. The politics had bored me, but in the few minutes of break time afforded me, Winner had been able to touch on the latest activities of all our past comrades, including the fact that my once-upon-a-time partner, Maxwell, was still subtly pining over Yuy. _

_This was not something Duo wanted advertised or probably even suspected was known by any of the rest of us, but having told Winner, well, what had he expected would happen?_

_I hadn't even been aware of his sexual preferences being anything different from the norm. He'd dated women. He'd once told me that he had. He'd never intimated that he might be gay; in fact, I doubted it was true and told Winner so. "Nonsense!"_

"_It's true!" Winner insisted with a stomp of his foot. "I didn't say he was casing after men, just moony-eyed over one. A-and Heero's such a-a dolt he might not even be aware that he feels the same way about Duo."_

"_Oh? And how do you know he does then?" I asked._

"_Because I do." He patted his chest over his heart. "Heero aches with loneliness, Wufei, and you being in town should take his upcoming winter class break as an opportunity to do something kind for him."_

"_I do things with him all the time," I maintained. Winter break? That was months away, or weeks. Weeks at least. Plenty of time to worm out of whatever Winner had planned._

_He waved his hands, brushing away all my things. "I'm sure you do, but I'm talking about getting him to spend time with Duo."_

"_You want me to set them up on a … date?" For the love of-!_

_The roll of his eyes informed me that he didn't think me competent, and for once I was grateful that he found be lacking._

"_I only require that you meddle a little. I have pulled strings to get Duo a pair of invitations to the L2 reconstruction celebration. Oh, they were inviting him, but these include round-trip transportation and deluxe accommodations."_

"_I don't see where my particular skills come in."_

"_You are to agree to go with him, when he asks you, and he will, and then exchange places with Heero, of course."_

"_Of course. And does Yuy want to do this?"_

"_He will if you ask him to."_

"_Ah. The point of weakness in the plan."_

"_Make it happen, Wufei, or you'll be spending a week on L2 with Duo instead and making both your friends - and you!—miserable."_

"_I should think you are more suitable for making romantic liaisons occur."_

_Oh, the look on his face nearly scared me witless. I'd fallen into a trap of his. Another one._

"_I'm so glad you think so. There's someone I'd like to introduce you to, away from the workplace. He's been begging me for months, you know, and there is the first palace ball coming up shortly."_

"_I have someone in mind. I need none of your interference."_

"_Even if the man I had in mind was Zechs Merquise?"_

_Well. That altered things considerably. I had a weakness for moody, platinum blondes in positions of power, and with drinking problems, apparently._

_We discussed the particulars of his plan of action, ripped it apart, and parted with my promise to "think it over."_

Time passed.

I agreed to Winner's machinations, if only to have a serious chance with Merquise. This part of the plan worked flawlessly, Zechs danced with me at the ball, and, later, at work he… he kissed me, but the part involving Maxwell failed to culminate in a proper Yuy-Maxwell moment. I don't know why that seemed to surprise Winner.

Maxwell had shown up at the ball after returning from a vacation a "changed man". Not only was he capable of making a scene, dancing like a stripper at a bar in public, but he appeared to have acquired a boyfriend. I feared Yuy might have an aneurysm when the boyfriend showed up unannounced at Preventers.

But since that also occurred on the day Merquise kissed me senseless in his office, I didn't dwell much upon Yuy and Dewy's romance. Besides, Zechs set Yuy on task to deal with his competitor.

Case closed.

You'd think so, but, alas, not. Yuy ridded Maxwell of the leach from San Francisco, intimidation style. **But.** He didn't follow through. He didn't go back and win the heart of the man he'd fought over. He didn't do shit, as Maxwell would put it.

I was glaring at the email Winner had sent, detailing how he had kept up his end of the bargain (I didn't know how. I didn't care. Zechs was _mine_ now.) and that it was my turn to "get with the program. And don't come to me with your problems; I'm on holiday!"

"Erm… you okay?"

I closed the email window. Now, I had Maxwell's face hovering over my desk. I had to think fast. _Re_-think very quickly how far I was willing to interfere in my friends' lives.

"Chang, my man, how goes it?"

"I am busy."

"You don't look busy."

"I'm editing my journal of—"

"Well, put away your erotica for a second and listen to this—"

"_Neur_otica! Maxwell! It's a highly respected journal on psychoses—"

"Sure it is, heh, heh…"

"What do you want?"

"Want? Everything, but what I want to know is if you're busy this weekend."

"T-this…? What is this about?"

"It's about me getting a special invite to visit my old home patch on L2 for the re-opening ceremony and all-."

So soon! I thought I had weeks to prepare. Well, time simply flew by while I'd been submerged in a sea of infatuation…

"-It's been rebuilt since the war, modernized, given the ole spit and polish, and they sent me a formal invitation to the grand opening gala."

"You're going?"

"I am, but…"

He didn't want to go alone. It seemed obvious to me.

"You took me to the L5-re-build shindig, remember? It's my turn to reciprocate. You can hitch a ride with me, all expenses paid, and I'll give you the complete tour of my humble abode of the past. Too good a deal to pass up, eh? Whatcha say?"

"I'm honored, of course, that you'd consider me—"

He sighed and gestured for me to hurry up.

"I would think Barton or…Winner would be better company—"

"Both on a honeymoon, so to speak. You haven't heard? Oh, yeah, well, Trowa's taking off some time so I'd know first, I guess. Apparently, Quat was given notice: drop the gay boyfriend or his position at WEI. Bad for their L4 charter forbidding gay relationships. Very dark ages, eh? Anyway, he chose Tro' babe and now they are vacationing for a week, God knows where. I unscheduled us from a couple small job interview thingys and there's no palace parties for a couple weeks. Yeah, a _tiny_ one, but Preventers have got it covered. Leaving me free to do as I like. We're all cool. So, you decide yet?"

"I have to decide this minute?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"I-I have to see if I can juggle my schedule. I just can't drop everything at your beck and call." Mostly, I needed to get a hold of Heero and light a fire under him. "I assume you asked Yuy-?"

Duo made an elaborate gesture miming a look at an imaginary wristwatch, and then declared, "—I am afraid we are out of time."

Each word he had enunciated carefully. A flash of temper crossed his face- or pain, I couldn't distinguish the difference, but I interpreted it to mean he either hadn't tried, or had tried to contact Yuy, and failed. Clearly, it wasn't a topic from which I should attempt to tease out more information.

"Well, in that case, of course, I'll go." I could tamper with "the who" at a later date.

"Really? Cool, then. Yeah. Pack dressy stuff and casual for a long weekend. We leave…" He pulled out a printout and unfolded it. "Says here, Thursday 5:00 PM. I'll have a taxi take us from here? At 3:00?"

"Let's meet at the shuttle station. I may work at home that day. I don't know." I wanted plenty of leeway to accommodate any change of plans I was going to have to make.

I waited until Maxwell had left the building before making my call to Yuy. He was on his way to a class. I was "lucky" he answered. I should feel "special" that he did. Asshole.

"Why aren't you going with Maxwell to L2? It is a very special occasion."

"I have finals," he told me succinctly.

"When? Next week?"

"The week after. I'll be studying."

"Bullshit."

"I _will._"

"Are you planning on attending graduate school? Being a student forever?"

"No. I –"

"Well, then," I cut him off, "you'll find out sooner or later that grades aren't material- not a twit. It's what you know that does matter and how you apply it." I was on a roll and just went with it.. "You can study just fine on the trip. Don't let something as insignificant as a test score determine your future."

"You think I should accompany him, then?"

"Absolutely! Don't you want to!?"

"Yes, if it is important."

"Do you want to risk missing out again?"

"No."

"What I don't understand it why, after ridding us of the Curtis _leech_, you didn't latch onto Maxwell yourself. No! Don't explain to me. Make it up to him, if you care one iota for him. Now, here's what you'll need to do—"

Of course, I wasn't stupid enough to trust Yuy to do the right thing. The image of Maxwell standing broken hearted at the shuttle station, alone, kept reappearing in my mind's eye. I would not let that happen to him! Should Yuy be a no-show, then I wouldn't be. I informed Zechs that there was a chance I'd not make the small gathering this weekend at the palace. I hated disappointing him; he'd been so desirous that I be there to relieve the tedium, since he had no choice but to attend. When I told him the situation, though, he was very understanding. Of course I should stand by Maxwell!

So, Thursday afternoon I packed an overnight bag and a dress clothes bag and taxied to the shuttle station. I was early, not wanting to see Maxwell uncertain and alone for even a moment. I didn't see him. I checked the departure board, and, yes, I was on time and in the proper waiting area.

Casting about for a switch of brown braid wasn't locating Duo Maxwell for the longest time, or so it seemed, and then I heard his voice. Yes! I spotted him… and Yuy! Together! And Yuy was carrying luggage for the trip! Was he actually going through with this? I jogged over to the couple, lugging my, hopefully still, unnecessary bags.

"Maxwell!"

"'Fei-man! You're here! I tried calling you—"he began.

"No, he didn't," Yuy interrupted. "I told him you'd want to see him off anyway and not to bother."

"Well, I _thought_ about it, heh, heh."

"It's fine, Duo," I assured him, so pleased to see him practically radiating joy from behind a discomfited look—the look clearly coming from having been caught out for not warning me not to put myself out getting here- I forgot myself and called him by his first name.

"He just showed up at my apartment," Maxwell explained apprehensively, probably expecting me to be angry at being replaced or having gone out of my way to change my plans, pack, and get here on time—something like that, possibly.

"You need not explain. My feelings are not hurt." I smiled widely to demonstrate just how not hurt I was. And then an idea, a way out of this uncomfortable scene, dropped out of the ether and into my mind. "That's what I get for gloating at the workplace."

Both men looked at me quizzically, while I took a moment to collect my thoughts and concoct the rest of my lie… story.

"That I was going with you to L2. I mentioned it to a few people." I stared meaningfully at Yuy. "It caused a stir of envy."

He took up the charade as best he could. "Accompanying Duo to the L2 celebration is more important than studying for tests."

Maxwell blushed at the meaningful look aimed at him when Yuy said this and couldn't stop his grinning, so I knew it was time for me to leave. We had a few more words, mostly me reassuring Duo that I didn't mind _at all_ that Yuy was going instead of me, and then said our goodbyes. As I turned to the exit, I found Zechs leaning in the doorway.

"Everything go well?" he asked.

"Yes. Yuy showed up and Maxwell looks pleased. So do you."

"I am glad to know I have you free this weekend and not vacationing with another man."

I thought came to me that Zechs was not above his own machinations. "And how much pressure did you put on Yuy?"

"None at all," he said loftily and gave his hair a fling over his shoulder.

I could tell, however, that he was too pleased with whatever role he'd played in the farce, and didn't have a long wait to hear all about it.

"I simply pointed out that I'd have him to thank for spoiling my future with you should Maxwell charm the pants off you. I believe it inspired him to action he had already intended to take."

No pressure at all. "All's well that ends well, so to speak," I summarized.

And it did end well. We all had a delightful weekend. I know _I_ did.

How did I know Maxwell and Yuy worked things out? Maxwell sent me a series of emails, beginning with this one:

"L2 changed, not run down, all shiny new and not really familiar."

"I had to make a speech! Lucky for me, I think fast on my feet!"

And ending on this promising note:

"For those following along and playing at home, all's well. Real good. Terrific."

And if there was any question how it all turned out, Zechs shared a short note he'd received from Yuy: "Tell Chang to stand down. I have Duo's back from now on."

* * *

**The End.**

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! - KS


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